Grammar book · Words and sentences
Prepositions of place and movement
የቦታና የእንቅስቃሴ መስተዋድዶች (prepositions of place)
in, on and at say where something is; under, between, next to and across from give its position; to, into, through and others show movement. In English they come before the noun.
in, on, at
Amharic uses በ-, ውስጥ and ላይ around the noun (በቤት ውስጥ, በጠረጴዛው ላይ). English puts one word before it. in = inside an area or container (in the car, in Las Vegas). on = on a surface or a line (on the table, on Tropicana Avenue, on the bus). at = at a point, an address or a place where something happens (at the bus stop, at 123 Main Street, at work).
In Amharic
አማርኛ በስሙ ዙሪያ በ-፣ ውስጥ እና ላይ ይጠቀማል (በቤት ውስጥ፣ በጠረጴዛው ላይ)። እንግሊዝኛ ከስሙ በፊት አንድ ቃል ያደርጋል። in = በአንድ አካባቢ ወይም ዕቃ ውስጥ (in the car, in Las Vegas)። on = በአንድ ገጽ ወይም መስመር ላይ (on the table, on Tropicana Avenue, on the bus)። at = በአንድ ነጥብ፣ አድራሻ ወይም አንድ ነገር በሚሆንበት ቦታ (at the bus stop, at 123 Main Street, at work)።
| in | on | at |
|---|---|---|
| in the kitchen, in my bag | on the wall, on the floor | at the door, at the window |
| in Las Vegas, in Nevada, in Ethiopia | on Flamingo Road (a street) | at 4500 Flamingo Road (an address) |
| in a car, in a taxi | on a bus, on a plane, on a train | at the bus stop, at the airport |
| in the hospital (as a patient) | on the second floor | at home, at work, at school |
| in the picture, in the newspaper | on the website, on the phone, on TV | at a party, at a meeting, at church |
- Cities and countries: in. Streets: on. Exact addresses: at.
- Small private vehicles: in (in a car). Big public ones you can walk on: on (on the bus).
- Floors take on: on the third floor.
- My keys are in my jacket pocket.
- The restaurant is on Maryland Parkway.
- I'll meet you at the bus stop.
- She's at work until six.
- Our apartment is on the second floor.
Position: under, between, next to, across from
These words give a more exact position. They are very useful for giving directions in a US city, where people describe places by what is next to or across from them.
In Amharic
እነዚህ ቃላት የበለጠ ትክክለኛ ቦታ ይሰጣሉ። ሰዎች ቦታዎችን ከጎናቸው ወይም ከፊት ለፊታቸው ባለው ነገር በሚገልጹበት የአሜሪካ ከተማ አቅጣጫ ለመስጠት በጣም ጠቃሚ ናቸው።
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| under | below, covered by | The cat is under the bed. |
| above / over | higher than | There's a light above the door. |
| between | in the middle of two | The bank is between the pharmacy and the café. |
| next to / beside | at the side of | Park next to the blue car. |
| across from (US) / opposite | on the other side of the street | The school is across from the park. |
| in front of / behind | before / at the back of | There's a bus stop in front of the hotel. The parking lot is behind the store. |
| near | not far from | Is there a gas station near here? |
- between two things; among a group of more than two.
- next to has to: next to the bank. near has no to: near the bank.
- The Ethiopian market is next to the laundromat.
- Our building is across from the elementary school.
- I left the bag under my desk.
- The pharmacy is between the bank and the post office.
- Meet me in front of the main entrance.
Movement: to, into, through and more
Movement prepositions say where something goes. to = the destination; into = from outside to inside; out of = from inside to outside; through = in one side and out the other; across = from one side to the other; along = following a line; past = going by without stopping. Note: go home, come home with no to.
In Amharic
የእንቅስቃሴ መስተዋድዶች አንድ ነገር ወዴት እንደሚሄድ ይናገራሉ። to = መድረሻ፤ into = ከውጭ ወደ ውስጥ፤ out of = ከውስጥ ወደ ውጭ፤ through = በአንድ ጎን ገብቶ በሌላው መውጣት፤ across = ከአንድ ጎን ወደ ሌላው፤ along = መስመርን ተከትሎ፤ past = ሳይቆሙ አልፎ መሄድ። ልብ ይበሉ፦ go home, come home ያለ to።
| Preposition | Example |
|---|---|
| to | I go to work by bus. We flew to Addis. |
| into / out of | She got into the car. He got out of the taxi. |
| onto / off | Get onto the bus. Get off at the third stop. |
| through | Walk through the parking lot. |
| across | Walk across the street at the light. |
| along | Drive along Sahara Avenue for two miles. |
| past | Go past the church and turn left. |
| up / down | Go up the stairs. Walk down the hall. |
- get in / out of a car; get on / off a bus, train or plane.
- No to before home, here, there, downtown: go home, come here.
- arrive in a city or country; arrive at a building (never arrive to).
- Take the 202 bus and get off at Charleston.
- We arrived in Las Vegas at night.
- Walk through the store to the back door.
- I'm going home now.
- Go past the gas station and the clinic is on your right.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I live on Flamingo Road. | Streets take on. | |
| She is at work. | at work, at home, at school: at, no article. | |
| I'm going home. | No to before home. | |
| We arrived in Las Vegas yesterday. | arrive in a city, arrive at a place; never arrive to. | |
| Get off the bus at Main Street. | You get off a bus, train or plane. | |
| The bank is next to the pharmacy. | next to needs to. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
My cousin lives ___ Denver.
The store is ___ Charleston Boulevard.
I'll wait for you ___ the bus stop.
She's ___ the bus. She'll be here soon.
The bank is ___ the café and the pharmacy. (one word)
The school is ___ the park, on the other side of the street.
He got ___ the taxi and paid the driver.
Walk ___ the tunnel to the other side.
Correct it: “Let's go to home.” → Let's go ___.
Our office is ___ the fourth floor.
Park ___ to the white van. (one word)